High Tech High School earned seven nominations and an honorable mention in the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards for their recent production of “Spring Awakening,” presented by the HT Musical Theatre Department.

Among the top nominated high schools, High Tech received nominations for Best Overall Production, Best Direction (Alex Perez), Best Supporting Actress (Ana Beliakova), Best Chorus, Best Student Orchestra (led by Rod Shepard), Best Lighting Design (Jams Bonkosky), and Best Scenic Design (Greg Cilmi), with an honorable mention in Choreography (Alex Perez).

The Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards are modeled after the Tony Awards. Paper Mill Playhouse‘s program serves the entire state of New Jersey with nearly 100 entered productions from public, private and parochial high schools. Paper Mill Playhouse conceived and created the awards in 1996 to give schools the opportunity to showcase their musical arts programs on a statewide level. The musicals are adjudicated by Paper Mill Playhouse throughout the spring by a group of 70 evaluators, with each school receiving four independent evaluations.

As one of the nation’s leading regional theaters and producing partners for Broadway, Paper Mill Playhouse has a well-earned reputation for launching both performers and shows for Broadway. Since their inception in 1996, the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theatre have ignited the careers of many notable performers, all of whom attended high school in New Jersey.

The 2014 Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards ceremony will take place at Paper Mill Playhouse on Tuesday, June 3 at 7:30 p.m. Schools nominated for Outstanding Overall Musical and Leading Actor/Actress nominees perform at the event and award recipients are presented with an engraved crystal award from Tiffany & Co.

Local athlete named soccer award finalist

North Bergen student athlete Ronald Yepes was named a finalist in the “Sueño MLS 2014 – Presented by Allstate” program, a search for the best undiscovered soccer talent in the country.

Now in its eighth year, the program is hosted by three local major league soccer teams: the Colorado Rapids, LA Galaxy, and for the first time in its history, the New York Red Bulls.

At each tryout, young players battled it out to become one of six finalists in their market –five field players and one goalkeeper – for the opportunity to attend a week-long trial with their respective youth development host club and a trip to the five-day national finals in the Los Angeles area. The finals will include training sessions, scrimmages, guest celebrity scouts, and an opportunity to meet some of League’s biggest stars. At the end, two winners will be chosen; one field player and the top goalkeeper will receive awards. Both winners will be crowned on Sunday, May 18, during a live broadcast on the Univision TV program, República Deportiva.

The Red Bulls’ tryouts took place over the weekend of May 3 and 4. Yepes, a local of North Bergen, was one of six players chosen from this tryout, which began with 396 entrees on Saturday.

Lung cancer lecture at the library

A lecture on lung cancer will be held at the North Bergen Free Public Library on Wednesday, May 14 at 7 p.m.

Pulmonologist Aida Capo, MD, HNMC will discuss early detection, prevention, and the current treatment options available. This event is made possible by the Hispanic Outreach Program and Holy Name Medical Center for Wellness Wednesdays.

The North Bergen Free Public Library is at 8411 Bergenline Ave. For more information call the library at (201) 869-4715 or visit www.nbpl.org.

Six-week ‘Take Control of Your Health’ workshop coming to library

If you have conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, heart disease, chronic pain, depression, anxiety, or addictions, then come join a free six week “Take Control of Your Health” workshop that can help you take charge of your life.

This workshop, offered in conjunction with the Bergen-Hudson Chronic Disease Coalition, will consist of two-and-one-half hour classes once a week for six weeks beginning May 14. The classes run from 4 to 6 p.m. at the library’s Kennedy branch, located at 2123 Kennedy Blvd., and will be conducted in English. Free refreshments will be provided along with a gift upon completion.

Registration is required. Contact (201) 869-4715, ext. 6 or www.nbpl.org for more information.

Classes include Newborn Baby Care, Keys to Successful Breastfeeding, and a two-day course in Childbirth Education, covering the process of labor including understanding the labor process, breathing and relaxation techniques to work with your body, the role of the support person, options for pain medications and medical interventions, Caesarean birth, understand your changing body after birth, newborn appearance, and procedures after birth. The Childbirth Education series also includes a tour of Palisades Medical Center’s labor and delivery unit.

Costs range from $35 per couple to $150 per couple depending on the class. Additional information is available at www.palisadesmedical.org. The Palisades Medical Center is at 7600 River Road in North Bergen. To register or for more information, call Robin Petrick at (201) 295-4823.

Union Hill High School annual alumni dinner is on May 14

The UHHS alumni have been hosting annual dinners since 1998. The main goal of the dinner is to raise money that is donated to various scholarship funds for Union City High School students. It is also a dinner/reunion for all UHHS alumni. One of the highlights of the dinner is to honor the recent inductees into the UHHS Hall of Fame.

The UHHS Alumni Dinner will be held on May 14 from 6 to 10:30 p.m. at La Fiesta, 255 Rt.17 South, Wood-Ridge. The price of $65 includes a cocktail hour, open bar, sit down dinner, and dessert. Tickets can be purchased by mailing a check/money order to the Union Hill Alumni Association, P.O Box 249, Union City, NJ 07087. Make checks payable to the Union Hill Alumni Association. Tables of 10 may be reserved in advance. Contact Marty Schade at (201) 401-4407 with any questions.

Union City Chamber Players to perform Brahms

Union City Chamber Players (UCCP) will present a program featuring Brahms’s Piano Quintet in F Minor on Sunday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m. at Emanuel United Methodist Church, 3310 New York Ave., Union City.

Flutist Nadine Scharman, mezzo-soprano Bernadette LaFond, and pianist Marina Korsakova-Kreyn will also perform French songs by Thomas, Ravel, and Massenet around themes of love, springtime, and loss. UCCP is delighted to welcome Scharman, who has performed at Carnegie Hall, among many other venues, and is in demand as a recitalist and chamber musician.

The Union City Chamber Players unite locally-based professional musicians to bring low-cost, high-quality performances of classical chamber music to the Union City community.

Tickets can be purchased for $10 at the door. Audience members are welcome to join the artists for a free reception following the concert.

UCCMP will also present the Brahms and French song program on May 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Crane’s Mill, 459 Passaic Ave, West Caldwell.

Health seminar on treatment options for overactive bladder

The Palisade Medical Center is presenting a free seminar about the many treatment options available for overactive bladders. Urogynecologist Sam Hessami, director of the Continence Center at Palisades and associate clinical professor at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, is the featured speaker.

The event will take place on Thursday, May 15 at 7 p.m. Admission is free, and food and refreshments will be provided. Contact (201) 854-5702 to register.

Palisades Medical Center is located at 7600 River Road, North Bergen. Free transportation will be provided from 60th St. and Bergenline Avenue starting at 6 p.m.

Mobile health screenings for May

The North Hudson Community Action Corporation provides free health screenings throughout Hudson, Bergen, and Passaic counties. Their mobile van will be at the following locations in May to offer free hearing testing and blood pressure testing on the spot.

May 30 from 5 to 8 p.m. – Jersey City Early Childhood Family Fitness Fair, corner of Dunkin Ave. and Route 440, Jersey City

Workshops for writers

Jersey City Writers plans to host a number of workshops and special events this spring in Jersey City. These events are designed to inspire writers in a fun and social setting to write. They include the following:

Full Story Launch Event/Mixer, Wednesday, May 14, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Zepplin Hall, 88 Liberty View Dr. This free launch event is in the form of “Speed-Dating” for novelists. Come prepared to give a 30-second pitch about your novel. For more information visit http://on.fb.me/1fVGt9L

If you have any questions regarding any of the Jersey City Writers events, contact Jim DeAngelis: jim@jerseycitywriters.org. For more information about Jersey City Writers, visit http://jerseycitywriters.org/.

Integrity House annual Golf Classic to be held on May 19

Integrity House, a nationally recognized substance abuse rehabilitation center with locations in Newark and Secaucus, will host its annual Golf Classic at the Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell on Monday, May 19. The event will benefit Integrity House’s Bate Adolescent Program, a residential setting which helps youths from ages 13 to 17 to address substance abuse and redirect their lives by providing academic and career-training, age-appropriate treatment, and family therapy groups.

Integrity House is celebrating more than 45 years of providing substance abuse treatment and support services for over 2,400 adult and adolescent addicts annually. “The annual Golf Classic brings awareness to the disease of addiction and the effects it has on individuals and their families, while raising the funds necessary to allow us to provide critical services to a number of underserved populations,” said Robert Budsock, CEO & president of Integrity House. “We are very thankful for the ongoing support of many generous business and community leaders who will once again participate in the Golf Classic and support our mission of helping individuals reclaim their lives.”

Mountain Ridge Country Club is one of the most prestigious private clubs in the Northeast. Through the Integrity House Golf Classic, serious golfers have the opportunity to play this very exclusive course, which was recently improved to meet the precise requirements and standards of the 2012 USGA Senior Amateur Open, which was played on the course.

The event will commence at 10:30 a.m. with a registration and practice range, BBQ lunch and putting contest, followed by a shotgun start at 12:30 p.m. Attendees will enjoy a reception and silent auction followed by dinner and awards later in the evening.

If you would like to show support but cannot attend the Golf Classic, Integrity House accepts donations of prizes and merchandise for the silent auction.

For more information or to register, visit www.integrityhouse.org or call (973) 623-7246.